Marion Williams

American gospel singer, born 29 August 1927 in Miami, Florida, USA, died 2 July 1994 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was a member of the Famous Ward Singers (1947-1958) and Stars Of Faith (1959-1965) and began a successful solo career in 1965. For the next 15 years, she toured widely, singing in concert halls, theaters, and in nightclubs in the United States, Africa, and the West Indies, on television and at jazz festivals, and most of all at dozens of colleges across the county. Her recording of "How I Got Over" sold more than a million copies. In “The Gospel Sound”, Tony Heilbut's critical and comprehensive study of gospel music, acclaims Marion Williams as quite simply "the most lyrical and imaginative singer gospel has produced." In her long distinguished career, which took her throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa, she brought together the best of the many different traditions that make up gospel music--the directness of Clara Ward, the wit of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the fervor of Dorothy Love Coates, and the grandeur of Bessie Griffin and Mahalia Jackson --and produced a unique personal sound that has had a major impact throughout American music from jazz to blues, from rock to soul, on instrumentalists and vocalists alike. Her growling, hollering hands-on-the-hips vocal style made her the Ward Singers most undisputed star. Her performances astonished all, quickly becoming famous for their rhythmic control, perfect timing, and remarkable use of portamento, falsetto, and ornamentation. In 1958, she and other members of the Ward group formed the Stars Of Faith, an ensemble most famous for inspiring the creation of Black Nativity, the first gospel musical which also boasted a commissioned book by Langston Hughes. It was well-received on Broadway, but in Europe, they toured for three years throughout Great Britain, Scandinavia, and the Continent.